Grow with…René van Wees

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The Philips Horticulture LED solutions team tries to chart each set of circumstances in as much detail as possible, and the Application Engineer has an important role to play in this. René van Wees has extensive experience with lighting solutions and believes in the power of LED lighting. “We really are helping the world to change.”

“The work carried out by Philips on behalf of growers is a team effort. Each member of the team does their utmost using their specific expertise to develop a tailor-made solution for a location and an optimum growth recipe. The great thing about my role is that I get to see everything coming together. When considering the technical solutions that are most suitable for a given situation, I use a combination of mechanics, electronics, optics and construction calculations and I also have to take into account the type of crop and the climatic conditions. It is incredibly complicated, but it is essential that we calculate everything as accurately as possible. For example, we make extremely precise calculations to predict the number of plants in a greenhouse. If our estimate is too low, and we don't install enough equipment, the plants won't get enough light. If our estimate is too high, however, and we end up installing too much equipment, the solution will be too expensive and the returns will be much lower.”

Plants never lie

“I love the fact that our work is completely transparent because the added value is always obvious. I once learned a very important lesson from one of our customers. He said to me: “Plants never lie.” Our customers are incredibly specialist experts who manage million-euro businesses. They notice straight away if their plants are not responding as promised and the solution isn't delivering the added value it is supposed to.”

We nearly always add value

“The Philips team is made up of committed professionals who work very closely together. I cannot emphasize enough, however, the importance of the role played by our installation partners all over the world. In my role I depend on their knowledge and input. That is why we invest a lot of time and energy in training our partners. This then boosts the level of knowledge right across the board in our approach.”

Growing food where hardly anything grows

“Apart from adding value for our growers, we also add value for the world as a whole. In the past I worked a lot on signage, but that gives you a very different kind of satisfaction. Now we are driving important developments like city farming and the production of food in places where nothing normally grows. In the future, my dream is to work on a project in the Sahara. I'd like to dig a bunker in an inhospitable place where hardly anything grows and, with the help of solar energy and pipelines to supply water, I'd like to grow food there. That would redefine the areas in the world that can be considered habitable. With our team, our partners and the knowledge of our growers, we can make a difference in areas that matter."

René van Wees

Manager Application Engineering

Apart from adding value for our growers,

we also add value for the world as a whole. Now we are driving important developments like city farming and the production of food in places where nothing normally grows”

René van Wees, Manager Application Engineering

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